Virender Sehwag questions Virat Kohli's decision to rest in-form Rohit Sharma

On the Cricbuzz Live Show, former Indian opener Virender Sehwag questioned current captain Virat Kohli's decision to rest Rohit Sharma, who has been in spectacular form.

India's confirmed XI for the first T20I against England ahead of the toss was met with surprise. Almost everyone expected Rohit Sharma, who had been in sensational form during the Test series, to start the match.

Virat himself confirmed in a press conference a day before the match that Sharma would open the batting along with KL Rahul. However, Shikhar Dhawan replaced him in the lineup.

The decision received considerable backlash given how poorly the top order fared during the match. Virat Kohli himself got out for a duck, KL Rahul managed just a single run, and Shikhar Dhawan toiled his way to four runs from 12 deliveries.

Former Indian players Virender Sehwag and Ajay Jadeja were quick to criticize the Indian team's decision to rest the vice-captain.

On the Cricbuzz Live Show, Sehwag said:

"It was said that Rohit Sharma will take a break in a couple of matches, but does this rule apply for Virat Kohli as well? As a captain, I don't think he comes and says that I will take a break for the next two or three matches. I don't remember a time captain Kohli has taken a break by himself. If the skipper is not taking a break, how does he give others the break? That should depend on the player."

Ajay Jadeja also chimed in on Sehwag's opinion.

"No batsman wants to rest. This game runs on rhythm, so when you are in form, you always want to continue batting. This is exactly what England was trying to do in the Test matches. They rested their key players and the scoreline says it all."

Rohit Sharma would be waiting desperately to get back to white-ball cricket: Virender Sehwag

Rohit Sharma emerged as the highest scorer in the Test series against England

Rohit Sharma was in marvelous form during the Test series against England. He was the highest scorer for India, and, therefore, Virender Sehwag couldn't figure out why India would restrict him from playing white-ball cricket.

"If Rohit has played the four Tests and performed well and he is in form, he would be waiting desperately to get back to white-ball cricket and transfer that form. In Test cricket, you don't get the freedom to express yourself, so when the white-ball comes players generally think 'why should I defend when I can bat freely, hit fours and sixes while entertaining myself and the crowd as well.'"

The Test triple-centurion even questioned whether the same laws apply to Indian captain Virat Kohli, who's unlikely to rest himself when Rohit Sharma returns to the starting XI.